Pro Tip: Taking Control at the Kitchen Line

Top 5 pro player James Ignatowich

Hey guys, this is James Ignatowich, and I’m going to cover the importance of hugging the kitchen line when you’re playing doubles and taking dinks out of the air. If your opponent can make the dink bounce past the kitchen line, they can really control that area (Figure 1.) And when someone’s controlling the kitchen line, that’s how they generate pop-ups.

Figure 1

I usually stay close to the kitchen line, leaning in and trying to take dinks out of the air (Figure 2).

Figure 2

It’s super important because when you do that, you take away your opponent’s time to react. For example, if I take the dink out of the air, I’m making contact with the ball much earlier. But if I let it bounce, the contact happens much later, and that’s a big difference in maintaining control during a match.

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James Ignatowich is a top 10 professional pickleball player originally from Connecticut, now residing in Delray Beach, Florida. A former Division 1 tennis player at Vanderbilt University, James made a transition to pickleball, quickly rising to prominence in the sport and often playing doubles with Tyson McGuffin and Anna Bright. In addition to his athletic achievements, he runs his own podcast, where he shares insights into the game and interviews other professionals. jamesignatowichnewsletter | PPA | MLP | My paddle